Impressions of America
MIHAJLOV, MTHAJLO
EXPERIENCING DEMOCRACY Impressions Of ^\mcricciBY mihajl° When I arrived in the United States at the beginning of last June the weather was warm and sunny. Now it is spring again and 1 plan to...
...I do not believe that totalitarianism is a result of a crisis in democracy, that liberty can be extended too far, or that freedom can be bent in the direction of evil...
...The fact is, however, that democracy can exist only where there are equal rights, and it is impossible to substantiate equal rights in the historical, political, biological or social spheres because people simply are unequal in their abilities, talents and strengths...
...Too often, as well, we forget that while battles are conducted by tanks, planes and cannon, they are governed by human beings, who are goverened by ideas...
...The reality becomes clear to every thinking person, though, when he notes a fact that is impossible to conceal—namely, that it is relatively difficult to immigrate to the United States but easy to leave it whenever one wishes...
...Looking for a particular street that seemed hard to find, I have repeatedly been surprised by the courteousness of people in giving me instructions, and sometimes even walking me to my destination or offering a ride...
...The main question is: Will the future world government be democratic, or will it resemble the Communist central committees...
...Wherever I have stayed overnight in the United States, be it in a hotel or motel, no one had ever asked to see my passport or my documents...
...In our world, every word to be uttered in public is checked and re-checked beforehand...
...Because an all-planetary human society is in the making, it is impossible for democracy and totalitarianism to exist side by side indefinitely...
...Yet that is not important...
...Very few people see the link between religion and democracy...
...If the individual soul is not immortal, this kind of lie has its justification...
...since then 1 have flown more than 50 times...
...Upon arriving here last spring 1 had the feeling that I was in Peyton Place...
...The strength of Communist totalitarianism lies in its fixed, global vision...
...That could not have happened in Europe...
...foreign policy is still unable to withstand world totalitarianism...
...In our time there are only two opposing powers, democracy and totalitarianism...
...The United Stales fought Nazi Germany, yet, beMihajio Mihaji.ov...
...In addition, I have given many interviews to the press, radio and television...
...And the fact is that our planet has become so small, so interdependent, that to think in terms of separate governments, states or nationalities is obsolete...
...Consequently, all summer long I was forced to repeat that this was not correct...
...It is true that a major weakness of the United States is that it does not possess a conscious goal, since the good life is only a means and not an end...
...In conclusion, let me make clear that I believe that a person's homeland is freedom, not a given geographic area...
...This naivete is always overwhelming...
...Most impressive of all, is America's incredible freedom...
...today 1 can speak about the country in a more serious vein...
...Spiritual hunger can be just as dreadful as the physical kind, and instead of criticizing such people, we ought to try to feed them...
...For dozens of years the democratic world has been on the defensive, even though we all know that victory belongs to the one who is on the offensive...
...Until now there have not been any instances where a Communist one-party government has made the transition to a democratic pluralist society...
...I assure you that no nation, regardless of its level of historical development or the color of its people's skin, would voluntarily choose slavery...
...For this reason, the decisive battle is being fought in the realm of ideas and on the spiritual level...
...But it should be emphasized that the extent to which people in the United States respect human rights at home (including economic rights), will determine how well it is able to defend human rights throughout the world...
...It seems to me that current U.S...
...And nowhere have I met as many people who know and love classical music as in this country, despite their having a much bigger choice than in the USSR, where only a dozen years ago jazz was considered an ideological enemy...
...in fact, all Communist states have behind them long trails of authoritarian traditions...
...One or the other must reign supreme...
...But there is a connection, of the most direct and practical kind...
...We are now all akin to passengers in a modern airplane: Should there be an accident, the odds are high no one will survive...
...In Communist countries the reverse is true—one can enter fairly easily, but it is difficult to get out...
...America cannot save itself until it feels the fate of the entire world as its own...
...Metaphorically speaking, I am certain that as long as a Satanic church in California continues to have the right to exist, the United States will continue to have a Christian society...
...But if the soul is immortal, then who knows what sort of sin the doctor has taken upon himself, by lying to the patient and not allowing him to prepare for the transition to the other world...
...Now it is spring again and 1 plan to return home shortly...
...In a similar vein, all totalitarian movements are based on falsehood and power, and are the first in separating themselves from the Creator and the immortality of the soul...
...although the Communist movement is at present divided, each center is nonetheless international in its scope...
...Moreover, to people from the USSR life in Yugoslavia seems almost like that of America...
...He does not see that people are striving toward a higher goal, that often they fall into despair, begin to rely on drugs or become completely indifferent because they have failed to find this higher goal...
...Since I was brought up on the Marxist claim that in capitalist countries man eats man, such encounters have been extremely touching expressions of people's warmth, thoughtfulness and good will...
...How can one explain to such a person that Lenin overthrew not a monarchy, but Russia's first democratic government, headed by a Socialist...
...I did not listen to their advice, and it turned out that students were interested precisely in these areas...
...Everyone who has lived in a dictatorial country knows how difficult it is to enter a government building without showing a special pass...
...I have had the good fortune to meet a great number of interesting individuals who hold important positions in newspapers, magazines and government agencies, plus many outstanding writers, playwrights, philosophers, and scholars...
...Interestingly, on several occasions university professors who invited me to speak told me not to dwell on religious issues because their scientifically enlightened students would not react to them...
...Propagandists in Communist countries emphasize that life in the West is bad, rather than that life in their own country is good...
...But this is not the fault of too much freedom...
...Should this change occur, ii will be of worldwide significance, and at the moment of crisis other totalitarian Communist countries will surely try to stop the precedent...
...What is more, when democracy and freedom are equated solely with American interests, then America cannot count on the support of other people who are struggling against totalitarianism...
...Nevertheless, 1 believe that at the moment of a fateful crisis, it will be the American people who, because of their tradition of individual freedom, will find within themselves the strength to resist evil...
...Congressmen and Senators have held receptions for me, and I have had the honor of receiving several awards from American and international organizations...
...In this respect, I would like to note that the free world is not saving the dissidents in totalitarian states, they are saving the free world...
...This basic characteristic of the new time we live in was unknown in the previous century...
...There is only one basis for equality of rights, and that is religion, for we are all equal before God, we are all children of God...
...I have spoken at large public meetings where my words were broadcast live, and no one ever asked me ahead of time what I was going to say...
...For anyone who has lived in a Communist country, this is a true miracle...
...no request has been made that I show my documents or an entry pass...
...How I wish it could be understood that if freedom and respect for human rights do not exist in Moscow, Canton and Santiago, they will not exist in the United States either...
...the Yugoslav dissident, is a frequent NL contributor...
...to defend not solely its own freedom, but the freedom of the entire planet...
...During my very first days in the United States 1 realized I was in a place far different from the one I had lived in for 44 years...
...There is other, more convincing proof of the strength of American democracy—and I'm not even making any sort of comparison with the situation in a one-party state, where yesterday's leader cannot be mentioned today because he has been renounced by the latest party congress...
...The spiritual strength of freedom is far greater than it seems...
...If one denies this equality before the Creator, then dictatorships based on racism, class differences and nationality are justified...
...Man can very easily become accustomed to comforts...
...Many people in our day also do not see the connection between a belief in the immortality of the soul and the violence of deceit that occur in everyday life...
...Driving on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., 1 saw a red Nazi flag waving in the air, with its white circle and black swastika...
...I am often asked after my lectures: "Do the people in Yugoslavia support the Communists...
...The process is irreversible...
...After I spoke in the United States for the first time, the correspondent of the New York Times reported (June 11, 1978) that I had expressed the same thoughts as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his Harvard speech a week earlier...
...I believe that over the past 10 months I have gained not merely the usual superficial impressions of America but have also been able to make some in-depth observations, which I would like to share...
...Alas, a good example of how negative an influence totalitarianism can have even on so great an individual as Solzhenitsyn is his assertion that man "has a right not to know...
...I think people everywhere are the same, but it is obvious that they can be kinder if they enjoy greater freedom...
...There is no data to accurately substantiate Solzhenitzsyn's suggestion that there is more crime here than in the USSR...
...1 must say thai America's high standard of living did not make a deep impression on me...
...I will be returning to Yugoslavia not because I believe that a person cannot live without his native country, but because for a number of reasons the most imminent decisive battle against totalitarianism will be waged there...
...Of course, democracy does not guarantee that the wisest and best individuals will come to power, yet it provides a trustworthy assurance that at least the worst will not come to rule...
...The democratic world can save itself only if millions of people in totalitarian states are on its side...
...I detest fascists, but when 1 saw that no one paid any attention to the flag I understood for the first time in my life the true strength of democracy...
...In the world today, no previously democratic country has voted the forces of totalitarianism into power...
...After my many meetings with American citizens, I have the impression that Americans make the serious mistake of thinking that democracy is something they alone have a special interest in—that other people can easily live in a state of unfreedom...
...That, in turn, requires the U.S...
...In that regard, I was encouraged to find a great striving toward spiritual values in America, particularly among young men and women...
...For many years Yugoslavia has been the most open and liberal Communist country, and it is there that a substantive change can take place...
...It is most paradoxical that in the United States, where there are hundreds of religious movements and churches, there is no powerful voice that could withstand totalitarian ideology and demagoguery...
...I have had the opportunity to visit some 20 states while lecturing at various universities, participating in scholarly symposiums and national trade union conventions, and meeting with numerous religious, political and social organizations...
...This is the spiritual basis of democracy...
...Similarly, upon entering an important government building—say, the Congress or Senate—I have been checked only for weapons...
...Thus, although American society is not ideal, I cannot share Solzhenitsyn's concern that should there be a transformation of Soviet society into a Western one, in the process Soviet society is likely to become worse rather than better...
...Prior to last June 1 had flown in an airplane only three times...
...I also do not believe that there is a strengthening of character taking place in the East and a weakening in the West...
...I have written a dozen articles and completed my fourth book, Anti-Scientific Thoughts, currently being prepared for publication...
...Is it not clear that a one-party monopoly exists in Yugoslavia because the people do not support the Communists...
...In another hundred years, the relationship of all existing governments to the future world government will be the same as that of the states of Kansas, Colorado and Maine to the White House today...
...Let us take, for example, the doctor who, out of the best intentions, deceives the terminal cancer patient by not telling him he is fatally ill...
...Yet, despite the material wealth and technical know-how of the democratic world, it still lacks an expansive and universal vision and ideology...
...This is because citizens of Communist countries know how unpleasant their lives are and cannot be deceived into believing otherwise, but not knowing much about living conditions in the West, they can be persuaded that life there is just as bad...
...True, in the United States everything is available, and it is practically impossible to bring someone a gift from abroad that cannot be found here...
...Solzhenitsyn criticizes freedom from religion—that is, the absence of serving a higher good...
...Life, in short, has been fascinating and hectic...
...I had an unforgettable experience of a different kind in Washington, where a woman psychoanalyst came up to me following a talk and asked: "You mentioned Lenin, is he the one who was involved in the Russian Revolution...
...lieving in man and in the idea that the majority of people will not voluntarily choose evil instead of good, it allows a flag to fly that belongs to an enemy...
...One is struck, too, by the large number of young people who hold important positions in government, in the editorial rooms of various newspapers, and in other institutions...
...For every strong, saintly person who is able to withstand totalitarian pressure, there are millions who remain psychologically crippled...
...And how can one point out that the Communists did not industrialize Russia, but quite to the contrary, curtailed its development...
...In our small world, the separate interests of the United States, the USSR or China can no longer exist...
Vol. 62 • April 1979 • No. 9
